Disposable robelike garment



NOV. 2, 1954 JELSTRUP 2,692,989

DISPOSABLE ROBELIKE GARMENT Filed Oct. 10. 1949 INVENTOR. Gunner Jelstrup ATTORNEY 2,592,989 Patented Nov. 2, 1954 DESPGSAELE ROEELIKE GARMENT Gunnar .l'elstrup, Denver, Colo.

Application October 10, 1949, Serial No. 120,495

1 Claim. (Ci. 2-114) The present invention relates to disposable robe-like garments. It has to do particularly, although not exclusively, with preferably disposable garments of robelike type or form which may be made from paper or some similar inexpensive material permitting them to be disposed of after each wearing or use.

One of the principal uses of the present invention is 1n doctors offices, clinics, hospitals, or the like, and particularly in the office of a physician who does a large volume of examination work which requires the disrobing or partial disrobing by the patients, and wherein the number of robes per day in usage is considerable and involves substantial expense, both with respect to the original cost of the robes and in the laundering and other maintenance expense in connection with them.

Some physicians have discovered that sometimes it 1s the practice of their nurses or other assistants to use a robe a second time; that is to say to use a robe on one person and if it does not appear to be soiled from said use, to use it on a second person. Such promiscuous use is undesirable and unsanitary and is never practiced in the oflices of high grade physicians; nor is it tolerated by them.

In view of the desirability to reduce the cost in connection with the use and maintenance of robes for patients undergoing physical examinations and to lnsure the maintenance of sanitary conditions at all tlmes, the preferably disposable robe-like garment of the present invention has been evolved.

One of the objects of the present invention is to prov de a sanitary and inexpensive preferably disposable robe-like garment which is of simple construction and which may be worn by a patient undergoing an examination in such a manner as to conceal all parts of the patients body except that part or parts which is being examined.

Another object of the present invention is to provlde a preferably disposable robe-like garment having a head and neck opening which is of sufficient size so that the garment can be slipped onto the patient without disturbing in the case of a woman patient, the hair dress of said patient; it being another object of the invention to provide the front and back portions or panels of the garment with longitudinally extending lines of perforations or slits providing score lines so that either or both of the panels may be torn or separated along the score lines to reveal only that portion or those portions of the body of the patient which are to be examined, leaving the remaining portion of the body concealed.

Another object of the present mvention is to prov de an improved garment of the foregoing character whlch may be formed from paper or other inexpensive and easily disposable material, with the advantage of providing a single-use garment.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved garment assembly in which the garment 1s preferably formed from a single length of mater al, preferably disposable material, such as paper, WlllCh is folded so as to provide front and rear panel portlons of substantially equal length and width, the panel portions having an opening formed at their juncture which is of sufiicient size to easily clear the head of the wearer and thus prevent the mussing of the wearers hair when the garment is put on; a further object being to provide both panels with lines of scoring extending from the neck openmgto the lower ends of the panels, thus permitting, by tearing the material along the score lines, the exposure of only that portion or those portions of the patients body upon which the examination is to be made.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved robe-like garment assembly which includes means, such as a plastic belt or strap which removably enc1rcles the waistline area of the wearer to hold the garment 1n position around the waist of a patient; it being another object of the present invention to provide clampng rings, whlch may be formed from plastic, for clampmg the sections of the garment panels in position upon the legs of the patient when it is desirable to cover said legs.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a relatively simple, inexpensive and effective sanitary robe-llke garment for use as a temporary body covering, whlch 1s particularly suited for gynecology, obstetrics and similar examlnations where it is necessary to uncover the patients body in the area of the examination and provide a clean sanitary draping for other body portions.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved robe-like garment as aforesaid, which may be made in a variety of sizes so as to fit patients, and others, of various sizes and builds.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a sterlle dispensing package containing a plurality of sanitary garments in accordance with the foregoing, which garments may be of various colors to meet the choice of the person wearing them.

While the robe-like garment of the present invention is designed primarily for the requirements of women patients, it is also contemplated that it may be used on male patients. Moreover, the garment while designed primarily as an ofiice item, may be used in hospitals, clinics, private homes, as well as perhaps to some extent for purposes other than medical examinations.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description and appended claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In said drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a garment embodyingthe present invention shown being worn by a female patient;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the garment and patient of Fig. 1, illustrating the side openings or space between the front and back panels of the robe-like garment;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating one manner of separating sections of the garment along one of the perforation lines or score lines formed in the material; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of a sanitary dispensing package or container, showing a plurality of folded garments stacked therein.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawing, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. It is to be understood also that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the invention claimed herein beyond the requirements of the prior art.

With particular reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing, a female patient A is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 wearin a robe-like disposable garment assembly embodying the present invention. It is to be noted that the robe-like garment comprises a front panel-like secrion iii and a rear panel-like section or portion 11, these paneis being joined together at their upper ends at thoulder fold or portion 12. The panels are preferably .ormed from a single length of material, such as some st able disposable material like paper which is folded a; the shoulder line 12 to provide two panels of substantially the same size, the length and width of both panels being preferably the same. A portion of the material is removed or cut out at the shoulder line, namely at the juncture of the upper ends of the front and rear panel portions to provide a neck and head opening 1'3. It is to be noted that this opening is of suflicient size to permit the free passage of the patients head without disturbing the hair-do of the patient.

As seen in Fig. 2, both sides of the garment are open, e such opening being indicated at 14. The opening a the other side and which is not shown, is substantially t e same as opening or slot 14.

It is desirable to draw the robe-like garment in atthe aist of the wearer and for this purpose, any suitable means may be employed. Merely by way of example, there is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a waistline-encircling member which may be in the form of a plastic strap or belt 15 whose free ends are gathered at the front with a bow, such as indicated at 16, merely for the purpose of holding the garment panels and 11 in general conformity to the curvatures of the patients body.

One of the important features of the present invention resides in the provision of both front and back panels with a line of perforations, slits or scoring. Such line of perforations is shown only in one of the panels, namely in front panel 10, as seen in Fig. 1. The line of perforations is indicated at 17 and extends preferably from the neck opening 13 at the upper end of the panel to the bottom or lower edge of the panel.

In eifect, the two lines of perforations, one in each of the front and back panels, permits thepanels to be divided in half longitudinally or permits each of them to be divided into four sections or portions, namely two sections in the region of the breasts and two sections from the waist down, insofar as front panel 10 is concerned. Rear or back panel 11 is likewise capable of being divided into two longitudinal halves or sections or into two sections or portions next to the patients back and above the waistline and also into two sections or I portions below the waistline or waist-encircling tie member 15.

Fig. 3 illustrates, by means of the right hand of the physician or nurse, as shown at B, the separation of the two upper or breast-concealing sections or portions of front panel 10 which are disposed above the removable belt or member 15. Assuming the examination is to be made in the chest region of the patient, the upper sections are separated along the perforated lines. 17, the necessary distance to expose or reveal the parts or sections of the body which are to be subjected to the examination or treatment. By laying back one portion of the separated panel, the necessary region is exposed, while the remaining portions or regions of the body remain covered and concealed. Thus, by dividing the garment into, for example, eight quarter-sections or portions by virtue of the score lines 17, any desired portion of the patients body may be exposed by separating the material along the score lines in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

In some examinations it is desirable to maintain the legs of the wearer clothed or covered. When such an examination is to be performed, the garment of the present invention may have both its front and back panels 10 and 11 separated longitudinally along the lines 17 from the bottom of the panels to points upwardly therefrom. The separated panel portions at each side of the original perforated line or lines may then be wrapped around the limbs of the patient, after which a suitable clamping ring, which may be formed from plastic or other flexible material, is slipped over the patients legs to hold or clamp the garment panels over the limbs.

While reference has been made to the fact that the garment of the present invention may be formed from a single length of material which may or may not be of a disposable nature, such as paper, the front and back panels 10 and 11., respectively, may be formed separately and may, if desired, be stitched together along the line 12 at the shoulder portion of the garment.

Moreover, it may be desirable to provide the robe-like garment of the present invention with lines of scoring (not shown) in the vicinity of the shoulder line 12, which lines of scoring would extend from the outer edges of the panel to the neck and head opening 13 thereof. Such scoring would permit separation of the garment over a shoulder or over both shoulders of the wearer to permit an examination thereof or treatment of this region, allowing the entire remaining portions of the body to be covered or concealed during the shoulder examination.

In Fig, 4 of the drawing, there is illustrated one form of sanitary or sterile package embodying the present invention, wherein a container or carton, which may be formed from cardboard, paper or some other suitable disposable material, or which may be a permanent container, is shown with its lid or cover open and exposing therein a plurality of sanitary garments folded into compast size and embodying the invention illustrated in- Figs. 1, 2 and 3-.

As shown, the package or container comprises preferably a rectangular carton or box 20 having a movable lid or cover 21. Located within the box or container is a series of robe-like garments C, each of which is formed in the manner described above and which has been folded neatly into relatively small compact size for the purpose of insertion into the carton 20. If desired, although this feature is not illustrated in the drawing, each of the garments C may be individually wrapped in some suitable material, such as cellophane, or the like, so that the individual garments will remain sterile after their removal from the carton 20. Moreover, it is proposed that the material from which the garments are formed may be of various colors and it is preferred that each of the cartons containing the garments, such as carton 20, contain folded garments C which vary in color. This would enable a fastidious patient to choose his or her garment in a color suitable to his or her particular taste.

I claim:

A robe-like garment formed from one sheet of disposable tissue folded to' provide corresponding sections adapted to furnish a substantially complete cover for the body of a user of average size, each of said sections being of sufficient width to provide complete coverage-for the front and rear sides of the body when the garment is draped on a body, there being, recessed areas along a fold line on each section of the sheet to provide an opening of sufficient size to pass the head of a user, perforations substantially along the center line of the front and back sections and providing in effect four available body covering and revealing sections whereby when the sections are enclosed in a cord-like tie on the body of the user they will be held in body-covering position prior to severing the lines of perforation to expose a part of the body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 598,459 Young Feb. 1,. 1898 646,194 Sims Mar. 27, 1900 1,211,832 Elliot Ian. 9, 1917 1,432,249 Hoyrne Oct. 17, 1922 1,489,046 Thompson Apr. 1, 1924 1,542,622 Luck Tune 16, I925 1,569,960 Geisler Ian. 19, 1926 1,806,601 Alexander May 26, 1931 1,862,335- Dennis Tune 7, 1932 2,067,111 Aberle Ian. 5, 1937 

